Full Text of Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig's Report of a Victory and
Reverse
_The battle of Cambrai began on Nov. 20, 1917, with the
successful surprise attack of the British Third Army under Sir
Julian Byng, and came to an end on the night of Dec. 4-5 with
the withdrawal of British troops from Bourlon Wood to "a more
compact line on the Flesquières Ridge." A German attack, which
began on Nov. 30, had succeeded in wresting away a large portion
of the British gains. This reverse was later the subject of
British Parliamentary inquiry, but the commission found no
serious military errors to censure. Sir Douglas Haig's official
report to the Secretary of War is printed below in full. It
acquires a fresh interest from the fact that the terrain fought
over is in part the same as that across which the Germans have
since swept in their Spring offensive of 1918._
_General Headquarters,
British Armies in the Field,
Feb. 20, 1918._
My Lord: I have the honor to submit the following report on the
operations on the Cambrai front during November and December, 1917:
1. As pointed out in my last dispatch, the object of these operations
was to gain a local success by a sudden attack at a point where the
enemy did not expect it. Our repeated attacks in Flanders and those of
our allies elsewhere had brought about large concentrations of the
enemy's forces on the threatened fronts, with a consequent reduction in
the garrisons of certain other sectors of his line.
Of these weakened sectors the Cambrai front had been selected as the
most suitable for the surprise operation in contemplation. The ground
there was, on the whole, favorable for the employment of tanks, which
were to play an important part in the enterprise, and facilities existed
for the concealment of the necessary preparations for the attack.
If, after breaking through the German defense systems on this front, we
could secure Bourlon to the north, and establish a good flank position
to the east, in the direction of Cambrai, we should be well placed to
exploit the situation locally between Bourlon and the Sensée River and
to the northwest. The capture of Cambrai itself was subsidiary to this
operation, the object of our advance toward that town being primarily to
cover our flank and puzzle the enemy regarding our intentions.
The enemy was laying out fresh lines of defense behind those which he
had already completed on the Cambrai front; and it was to be expected
that his troops would be redistributed as soon as our pressure in
Flanders was relaxed. He had already brought large forces from Russia in
exchange for divisions exhausted in the struggle in the western theatre,
and it was practically certain that heavy reinforcements would be
brought from east to west during the Winter. Moreover, his tired
divisions, after a Winter's rest, would recover their efficiency.
For all these reasons, if the existing opportunity for a surprise attack
were allowed to lapse, it would probably be many months before an
equally favorable one would again offer itself. Furthermore, having
regard to the future, it was desirable to show the enemy that he could
not with impunity reduce his garrisons beyond a certain point without
incurring grave risks.
Against these arguments in favor of immediate action I had to weigh the
fact that my own troops had been engaged for many months in heavy
fighting, and that, though their efforts had been uniformly successful,
the conditions of the struggle had greatly taxed their strength. Only
part of the losses in my divisions had been replaced, and many recently
arrived drafts, still far from being fully trained, were included in the
ranks of the armies. Under these conditions it was a serious matter to
make a further heavy call on my troops at the end of such a strenuous
year.
On the other hand, from the nature of the operation, the size of the
force which could be employed was bound, in any case, to be
comparatively small, since success depended so much on secrecy, and it
is impossible to keep secret the concentration of very large forces. The
demand made upon my resources, therefore, should not be a great one.
While considering these different factors, preparations were quietly
carried on, so that all might be ready for the attack if I found it
possible to carry it out. The success of the enemy's offensive in Italy
subsequently added great force to the arguments in favor of undertaking
the operation, although the means at my disposal for the purpose were
further reduced as a consequence of the Italian situation.
Eventually I decided that, despite the various limiting factors, I could
muster enough force to make a first success sufficiently sure to justify
undertaking the attack, but that the degree to which this success could
be followed up must depend on circumstances.
It was calculated that, provided secrecy could be maintained to the last
moment, no large hostile reinforcements were likely to reach the scene
of action for forty-eight hours after the commencement of the attack. I
informed General the Hon. Sir Julian Byng, K. C. B., K. C. M. G., M. V.
O., to whom the execution of the plans in connection with the Cambrai
operations was intrusted, that the advance would be stopped by me after
that time, or sooner if necessary, unless the results then gained and
the general situation justified its continuance.